Torture of the Soul AC
by Kimberleg
Summary: Legolas' despair in Helm's Deep turns to madness and violence. Can his love with Anié survive to see a day of peace? WARNING! Rape written in graphic detail.PS 'Torture of the Soul LG is exactly the same but with a change near the end
1. They are all going to die!

Torture of the Soul

In a small armoury, the atmosphere in the air was terrible. The room was far too small for that number of people, and everyone was bustling about, trying to avoid bumping into the vast number of people around them. All except one of the people in the room were male: half were old men, the other half were young boys. None of the young boys were older than fifteen, and none of the old men were any younger than about forty. There was a mixture of emotions in the air: fear and despair of the hopeless battle and the most likely death that was to ensue that night, frustration that the job of delivering out weaponry was not being done hard enough and sadness that they had to do this awful job in the first place.

Old, battered swords, relatively well-kept shields and strong chainmail were being handed out as quickly as possible to everyone in the room, yet it is still a slow and dreary process. All that could be heard was the hustling, bustling and groaning of the old men. But everyone knew that in the caves was the sound of crying and wailing from the women and mothers after having to give away their children, husbands and brothers. It was a terrible thought to behold.

Another terrible thought was the truth which was that none of the men in the room could fight; half of them hadn't even held a sword before. Only four people in the room did not fit into this category: Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the Ranger and experienced swordsman; Gimli, son of Gloin from the Lonely Mountain, genius with an axe; Legolas, son of King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm, best archer in Middle Earth; and Anié Celebrindal, Legolas' one true love whom Legolas had taught to fight, so she was now an excellent archer and swordswoman.

Aragorn wandered around the small room, handling the swords and throwing them down onto the heap again, almost in disgust. Gimli stood stoutly, his hands resting on his axe, looking around and watching. Anié sat on the side with the other three men, cleaning and sharpening her long knife. Her long, beautiful hair lay still, resting on her delicate back, and her specially-made warrior outfit fitted her figure perfectly. Every now and again, she would look up. A few feet in-front of her, Legolas stood, tall, elegant and strong, and Anié felt comforted with him standing there. She looked up at his face and smiled. It didn't concern her too much, but what she did notice was that every time she looked up and smiled, Legolas would either not look at her, away in his own thoughts, or if he did look at her, he would not smile back. He would either give a subtle nod, sigh slightly or simply watch her smile, then look away again. She had fought by Legolas' side on many an occasion, even in battles where hope had died completely, and she had never seen him act like this before. She was a little concerned, but she kept it to herself. She could speak with him later if she wished.

Although she was very alert, she wasn't really paying an awful lot of attention to what the other men were doing. Everyone was waiting for something to happen – waiting for the huge army of 10,000 to arrive. Waiting and nothing more. She only vaguely heard Aragorn mutter something about farmers, boys and how they weren't soldiers. Gimli carried on the conversation and she continued to clean and sharpen her knife.

"Most have seen too many winters" said the Dwarf, loudly, which Anié thought was most inappropriate.

"Or too few" said Legolas.

Anié perked up. He had a point – both the Elf and the Dwarf's points were valid; old men shouldn't be going to battle, and it was heart-breaking to see the little boys dress up in men's armour, trying their very best to be brave, waiting to go to a hopeless battle and die. She slipped into her own memories of children and sighed sadly, placing one hand on her stomach…

A tear may have come to her eye if she had not come out of her memories to listen to her lover speak.

"Look at them" he said, speaking mainly in Aragorn's direction. The troubled Elf looked around at the men acting as the soldiers, preparing to go on stage for the final time.

"They're frightened. You can see it in their eyes".

Legolas stared at Aragorn. Aragorn stared at Legolas. Anié lifted her head and stared at Legolas also.

Legolas' eyes were a cold blue as he stared at Aragorn. Aragorn had turned his head to look at Legolas whilst he was fingering some chainmail, and his face was full of concern. Anié was more confused than anything – why was Legolas acting like this?

Legolas turned away and looked as though he may walk off.

"_Boe a hyn"_ (And they should be) said Legolas in his own tongue, referring to the people's fear, turning around to face Aragorn again.

"_Neled herain dan caer menig?_ " (300, against 10,000?)

Anié looked at Legolas and tried to hide her horror. She had never seen him like this before. The Elf's face was filled with something … she couldn't quite put her finger on it. But she was certain that dwelling in his heart and in his soul was an unquenchable fear that was beginning to consume any thought he had of hope and trust in the good of men, and also himself…

Aragorn was at a lost at what to say. He never thought one of his strongest friends fall into such a pit of despair.

"_Si, beriathar hyn ammaeg na ned Edoras_" replied Aragorn, as calmly as he could, trying to convince Legolas that if they had stayed in Edoras, they would have no hope of survival, whereas here, they did.

"Aragorn …" said Legolas quickly, unconvinced, "_nedin dagor hen u-erir ortheri"_ (they cannot win this fight".

He was clearly aggravated and as he spoke, his voice raised in volume.

"_Natha daged dhaer!_" (They are all going to die!) he shouted.

Aragorn, rather unexpectedly retaliated:

"Then I shall die as one of them!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

He strode forwards towards Legolas as he said this and ended up less than a foot away from him. Both the Mortal and the Elf stared at each other, not in hatred, but in trying to convey and control the emotions that had suddenly exploded from each of them. Anié watched, open-mouthed, horrified at these two friends shouting at each other. Being an Elf, she understood perfectly what had just been said and was struck with grief that Legolas had lost hope. She also knew that Aragorn that they were all going to die together in the presence of so many men whose morale was so weak was a bad idea.

Aragorn did not want to argue with his friend – he wanted to try and encourage him if anything, but at that moment in time, he did not know how. He was too upset and almost hurt that his friend had lost all faith in him, so he turned and left the room. Legolas tried to follow him, full of regret at what he had just done, but he was stopped by the Dwarf, he told him that the best thing to do was to leave Aragorn be. Legolas was slightly angered by the Dwarf stopping him from apologising but he made no action towards the Dwarf. He simply turned round in one swift movement and quickly left the room, leaving the men to finally break the silence and to mutter amongst themselves about what had just happened.

Anié was greatly concerned for Legolas and she too quickly left the scene in the direction that Legolas had gone off in. The Dwarf stayed seated and simply sighed to himself, not entirely sure what to do now. He thought of all the hundreds of Uruk-Hai he would be able to kill and that made him feel slightly better.


	2. The sexual monster

Anié followed Legolas as quickly as she could, but she did not know this place at all and Legolas was a swift walker. Unfortunately, she walked down many corridors but they were all as empty as the last one. She was still concerned about him but she knew he could take care of himself, so she walked back down many corridors until she found a small room. It was far away from everywhere and everyone else and it was quiet – the perfect place to sit, relax and think. She, too, was worried about the on-coming army that she knew would slaughter many without mercy and she also felt the agony of waiting weighing down her heart. However, she tried to remain as optimistic as possible and refused to lose faith in her friends or in hope.

She sat there for quite some time in the silence, deep in thought, when after a while, she heard footsteps coming towards the room she was in. The footsteps were virtually silent and only an Elf would have heard them coming, but she lifted her head as someone started opening the door. Legolas silently stepped in and she rose from the bed that she was sitting on as he did so.

"Legolas!" she said softly, happy to know that she finally knew where Legolas was and that he was alright. However, Anié was not entirely certain if he was alright or not, for she could not read the emotions on his face; it was like attempting to read a passage of foreign verse.

Legolas said nothing as he entered the room, he did not even look at Anié; he simply shut the door firmly behind him and barricaded the door with a large, thick wooden pole, making sure it could not be opened again unless he wished to be opened.

She took a step forwards to go and comfort him but she only took one forwards before he raised a hand to stop her. He lifted his head and looked at her. She saw great grief in his eyes that seemed to be unbearable to feel and even worse to see. Legolas began to slowly walk towards her as he spoke:

"I need you" he said, an odd tone in his voice. "I need you now more than ever".

He walked right up to her so their bodies almost touched and he placed his palms on the side of her head. He clasped her face gently but tightly and he looked straight down into her eyes. His breathing increased and grew heavier, almost as if he were about to burst into tears.

"I can't do this …" he said quietly to her.

"You can do this" replied Anié, equally as quietly but with hope and determination in her voice.

"You are strong. You just need to …"

She could not finish her sentence, for Legolas had moved his head forward swiftly and fastened his mouth onto hers. His lips clasped hers and they kissed deeply and passionately. Anié returned the kiss, knowing that Legolas needed her love to be strong. The kiss was passionate and Anié felt her emotions rising as their kiss grew. Legolas plunged his tongue down her throat as they both held each other tightly and strengthened the bond between them – when the kiss had started, a bond had been created and Legolas refused to let it break.

His hands ran through her hair and over her ears as she held him close to her and began to enjoy the special moment that they were sharing together. His hands eventually reached her shoulders and Anié could feel his tense muscles tightening. It did not hurt but she could feel it. However, she was too overwhelmed by this sudden burst of erotic passion to think about it much.

Legolas then began to move her backwards and they both crashed into the wall. Even though her back now ached a little, she chuckled and laughed between Legolas' lips, assuming that this was an accident, but when she felt Legolas kiss her just as strongly as before, she knew that this was a deliberate action. She did not quite understand why Legolas had done this at first, but once again, she did not have much time to think about such things as the passion continued to over-ride her. However, although the passionate romance was strong and overwhelming, she realised that Legolas was crushing her slightly. Her back began to ache greatly and the pain began to rise almost as quickly as the passion did. She was tempted to ask Legolas to calm down a little, but she could not speak as Legolas' tongue still claimed dominance inside of her throat. Besides, she knew Legolas would never even dream of hurting her deliberately, so she continued to kiss him and hold his strong, muscular arms and shoulders.

Then, without warning, Legolas sharply thrust his pelvis against her. She gasped suddenly as a stab of pain spread to her thighs. He seemed desperate to be as close to her as possible, perhaps a little too close, much too fast …

"Careful, my love" she managed to say through gasps of breath. Although she said this light-heartedly, a hint of slight concern leaked into her voice.

But Legolas did not seem to notice and he continued to crush her as hard as before, perhaps more so. For the first time in what felt like hours, Legolas finally let go of her mouth. As he did so, Anié wanted to massage her mouth, as it felt like all the energy had been sucked out of it, but as before, there was no time, for Legolas had let her go for one reason and one reason only – more sex. He pushed her suddenly down onto the bed – she had an elegant, slender body, so she fell down quite easily. As soon as she hit the bed, Legolas clambered on top of her and straddled her, pinning her down by her shoulders.

In the back of her mind, she was a little worried about Legolas and how rough he was being, but they had had passionate sex before back in Mirkwood and nothing bad had ever become of it, so she forced the voice away and let erotic emotions claim her body and heart. However, this was not a voice of paranoia; this was a voice of conscience and of common sense. It was trying to get a message across to her that she did no wish to believe nor did she fully understand. Erotic fantasies filled her heart and the two Elves continued to kiss on the bed.

Suddenly, Legolas lifted his head, once again breaking the kiss and gripped the top of her shirt with two clenched fists. In one swift and terrifying movement, he tore the entirety of her shirt in half, revealing her chest openly to him. Alarm bells began to ring loudly in her head as Legolas, now fully aroused, heavily kissed her neck. Before she knew it, he began taking his own clothes off until he was fully naked before her. Normally, she would be aroused also by such a gesture, but now, she was scared. She started to panic and looked towards the door, only now realising why Legolas had made sure it could not be opened, from the outside or the inside.

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply, his tongue rummaging inside of her mouth and his hands once again holding the side of her head. She kissed him in return, but she was worried as to where this was going to lead and what was going to happen next. She now knew that due to his grief and most likely anger at himself too, he had completely lost control. This was no longer Legolas. When she looked into his face, she did not see the man she loved but something else, like another creature, some kind of demon …

His hands held the side of her head and as the passion grew, so did his grip. He moved his body forward so he was straddling her hips and he tightly gripped her hair. As his grip increased, her breathing quickened and she made high-pitched shrieks of protest which were unfortunately muffled by his mouth over hers. As he gripped, his lust for her overpowered him and he pulled tightly so her hair was almost being ripped out of her scalp.

He eventually broke the kiss and sat up to his full height. Anié gasped heavily as such long kisses do leave you lacking oxygen, as well as her pain and fear. She screamed in desperate protest as he pulled, but he seemed almost deaf to her; no matter what she said, he did not seem to hear her – his mind blocked and ignored her completely. To her absolute horror, she soon realised why Legolas was pulling her down so – she saw that her face was being drawn ever closer between his thighs and inside, she felt nauseous.

'No…' she thought, 'please no'.

Legolas's head fell backwards and he exhaled heavily as he awaited his love to provide him with an outburst of pure, blazing passion. In desperation, she tried to pull herself away from his member but Legolas was far stronger than she was and as she pulled away, the pain in her scalp sky-rocketed – she was stuck.

Her face moved ever closer forwards and she flinched and screwed up her face in an attempt to move away as much as possible. She shut her eyes tightly, fearing the worst. She had stopped screaming, as he could easily force himself into her wide, open mouth; she simply protested loudly with her mouth firmly shut.

As soon as she felt her lips touch his hardened skin, she could physically stand it no longer. She launched herself upwards, pushing Legolas backwards as she did so. She clambered to the other end of the bed as quickly as she could as Legolas sat at the other end, his legs open and his face filled with sudden confusion.

He looked at her and unbelievable fury gripped him. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, revealing furious, clenched teeth. He shouted deafeningly and flung his arms forward, pouncing upon her like a wild animal. She screamed in shock as he grabbed her arms and painfully slammed her into the wall. Pain roared through her body and she tried to escape, but that only made things worse – Legolas realised this and his fury increased to such a height that words fail to describe its intensity. Still gripping her shoulders with his tight fingers, he slammed her once again into the wall. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt the damage inflicted on her bones.

On his knees in front of her, he forced himself between her legs so he was close to her. He stared at her and she was terrified at the face that she saw glaring at her. Holding her strongly against the wall with one arm, he forced off her clothes with his other hand and once again forcing himself between her legs (which she attempted to keep closed and failed), pressed himself into her opening. His roughness made her sore and uncomfortable and she pleaded with him to stop. However, he could not stop now, even if he wished to. He moved up and down, rubbing against her sharply.

Anié was completely helpless – she could not escape, she could not move, she could not stop him, she could not even bring herself to look at him anymore. She was simply held there, eyes shut, trying not to cry, filled with utter disbelief at what the love of her life was doing to her. What was he doing? He loved her, why was he doing this to her?!

After some time, he began to thrust sharply into her. He could not enter her yet, but he was certainly willing to try, no matter what the cost. The pain, the agony, the grief, the horror, the whole situation … Anié simply couldn't bear it. She screamed loudly as tears leaked out from under her eyelids and rolled down her face.

"Please!" she cried in utter desperation. "Please … please stop! … It's OK, just stop, please stop … Legolas, please stop!"

She cried and cried, both in shouting and in tears, but Legolas (or whatever this 'thing' was) ignored her. He was so concentrated on entering her and receiving the pleasure he lustfully desired that his mind had blocked itself off from the rest of the world. He had even forgotten that in the next few hours, he would be fighting a battle. He was no longer himself, he just continued to thrust away into her.

He grunted and groaned with every thrust until eventually, with one hard thrust, he penetrated her. As he felt himself inside of her, he breathed heavily against her chest, as Anié just lay there against the wall, sobbing quietly to herself, for no-one else was there to hear her. Even though he had achieved his goal, he still continued to thrust, only now they were not so hard, fast and deep as before, which Anié was somewhat grateful for.

They remained in those positions for some time until finally, Legolas pulled himself out sharply and left the bed. Anié fell to the bed on her knees and slowly picked up whatever sheets or clothing was nearby to cover herself with. Neither of them spoke a single word as she remained still and silent on the bed and Legolas pulled on his clothing again. Once he was dressed, he walked to the door and with a loud and frightening shout, he removed the pole and threw it behind him. Anié ducked as she feared it may hit her (even though it probably would not have done) and an awkward silence filled the room once again. She kept looking down at the bed as she had done since Legolas finally let her go and she jumped in shock as Legolas suddenly left and slammed the door behind him.

Once he had gone, she raised her hand to her face and cried bitterly. She cried heavily and openly for what felt like hours. She could not bring herself to believe what had just happened. She did not understand anything now, nothing seemed to make sense. The pain and the grief she felt in that moment was unbearable. She was torn between loving him and hating him – she could not hate him, but nor could she understand how she could love a man who had just done that to her. Did he know how she felt? Did he feel the same? Did guilt now linger in his heart, or only proud achievement? She did not know. She simply knelt there, slowly re-dressed herself and wept.


	3. Punishment

A few hours later, Anié sat on the battlements of Helm's Deep, her slender body balanced quite nicely on the thin walls. She had managed to find another warrior shirt that fit her and her fair face was turned away from the mighty fortress, her beautiful eyes gazing out into the dark emptiness where she knew an army would soon begin to approach from. She was now fully dressed and ready to fight; blades, a quiver of arrows and a large bow adorned her back.

Aragorn, also dressed in what little armour he had, walked out of the fortress behind her, sorting himself out and breathing in the cold, still night air. He did not notice her at first, she was so still and calm, but when he did, recognised her instantly.

"Anié" he said politely. She turned her head slightly to see him.

"Why are you not in the caves?" he asked. Although his voice was gentle and friendly, a hint of sternness was present, implying to her that that was where he wanted her.

"I stay to fight with you, my Lord" she replied.

To Aragorn, her voice was different – a tone was present he had not heard before. He also instantly knew something was wrong by the fact that she called 'my lord' which she never did.

He nodded his head and allowed her to fight, for he knew she had excellent fighting skills and presumed she would want to stand by Legolas' side. She looked down sadly, then turned her head back towards the open plain before her. He walked towards her and stood beside her. All was quiet until Aragorn started a new conversation, one that Anié really didn't want to have.

"Have you seen Legolas yet?" asked Aragorn innocently.

An icy cold grip clutched her heart. She couldn't tell him, even if her heart needed her to … she couldn't …

"No" replied Anié sadly, the volume of her voice having decreased dramatically.

Aragorn nodded, then, having nothing else to say or do, began to walk away. Anié suddenly had a thought. She turned around suddenly.

"Have you?" she called after him. She was pretty certain that he wouldn't have done – she had no idea where Legolas now was – but she thought she'd ask anyway.

He turned and she was surprised to see that he confidently nodded. Her face changed to one of concern.

"How is he?" she asked, concern now clear in her voice, even though she tried to hide it.

Aragorn thought for a moment, then replied:

"He's alright" he said in a tone of voice implying there was more to come.

"He … he seemed alright" said Aragorn finally.

Anié, hiding her true emotions, nodded. Both Anié and Aragorn stood for a moment, silent once more, until Aragorn moved to get something out of his pocket.

"He asked me to give you this" he said.

He walked over to her with an envelope in his hand. Anié lifted her hand and held the envelope as Aragorn finished his sentence.

"I don't know why he could not give it to you, but …"

Aragorn watched her reaction. He had no idea what had happened – Legolas like Anié, had not told him either – but he assumed something must have happened between them. She seemed to freeze, as if time in that moment stopped for her. She then held the envelope in her lap, not looking at it and her face was lined with sorrow. She knew Aragorn was watching her.

"What's wrong, Anié?" he asked gently.

Anié was touched by his gentleness and his kindness, but she still refused to tell him what lay in her heart. She simply replied:

"There is nothing wrong with me, Aragorn. I was just worried for him".

She looked up at Aragorn and smiled subtly.

"Thank you" she said softly.

Aragorn bowed slightly to show his gratitude, then left the scene to sort out other matters. Once he had left, Anié looked down at the envelope in her hand. It was small and had the word 'Anié' written in black ink on the front, clearly written in handwriting of an Elf. Anié opened the envelope and read the letter inside:

_You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. For even when you are tortured, though I cannot see you, I know you are still so very beautiful. I understand if you hate me and never desire to lay your beautiful, perfect eyes upon me again, but I beg of you to read this letter so you may see just a little of what lies in my heart in this dark hour._

_You are the love of my life and I should treat you with respect. No crime is worse than the crime I committed against you tonight. I now owe you an eternal debt for my atrocity, but still I ask of you one last thing: I cannot live a life without you, my heart would not cope, for I love you so dearly, even though tonight, I did not show it. But a life without you is not a life worth living, so I therefore plead to you, please stay in the caves. They are not beautiful like our woodland home but they will keep you safe. I beg of you to stay there – I cannot risk losing you._

_There is no sentence strong or harsh enough that you can lay upon me that will fully pay this debt, but I go to fight a hopeless fight tonight._

_If I die, consider that my punishment._

_Your dearest love, Legolas_

Anié read small pieces of it again, but some of it she could no longer read, for her tears blinded her and some fell onto the paper in her trembling hands, making the ink run, so it looked as if the very words he had written for her were crying also. She wanted to find him – she wanted to run into his arms so that everything would be alright again. But she knew she could not, for she could already hear the stomping of many thousands of Uruk-Hai making their way slowly but surely towards the stone hell-hole Anié and Legolas knew as Helm's Deep.

Anié quickly wiped away what little tears remained on her face and placed the letter securely in her pocket. She then stood up and went to go and fight. Even though Legolas had pleaded with her to go down to the caves to be safe, she believed in her heart she could not leave her friends to fight by themselves – she would stand beside those she loved, even if it cost her her life.


	4. Breached Wall

Screams, roars, shouts and clashes of armour and swords filled the air. Everywhere you looked, an evil creature was running and screaming towards you – as arrows and swords flew in every direction, there was barely even a moment to breathe.

Legolas had no idea where his friends were – he was completely alone, both in body and spirit – all he knew was that he had to keep moving as the fight grew in intensity. This battle was not like the fights he was used to at home, but he still managed to kill and keep many a ferocious Uruk-Hai at bay.

Suddenly, he noticed a flaming torch running towards the Keep wall below him. He also heard Aragorn screaming at him to shoot him down and kill him. Legolas saw, aimed and shot. It was an excellent shot to the shoulder blade but to Legolas' dismay, the beast continued to run as if unharmed. As Aragorn continued to scream deafeningly at him, the pressure mounted and Legolas fired numerous arrows in the creature's direction. But still, to Legolas' horror, it continued to run. He only realised what was going to happen when it was too late.

As the creature leapt into the cavern full of explosives, the wall exploded, killing men and Uruks alike. Legolas watched huge slabs of wall and brick fly everywhere as well as humans as they were catapulted into the air, most of them dying as they hit the floor. Legolas felt nothing but pure guilt. As he watched the numerous numbers of soldiers fly off into the night sky, he saw a slim, delicate person fly up and backwards, turning in the air as it did so. For a horrible, stomach-churning moment, he thought he saw the face of that soldier – that female face. He stood there, mouth agape, praying that it was not Anié, even though his heart feared the worst.

The worst thing was that if it was her, he couldn't reach her, for the wall was so badly breach, no-one could cross to the other side. Swarms of Uruk-Hai flooded the inside of the fortress and Legolas had no choice but to rejoin the fight – it was either that or be crushed beneath the hoards of the enemy now running towards him, which he almost was. The agony in his heart had to be compressed for now, even though it was beginning to crush him from the inside.


	5. Crushed

The battle had finally ended and although the sun had risen, the sky still looked dark and cloudy as the smoke fumes rose from the burning corpses and carcasses. Legolas walked around the destroyed fortress, totally alone and completely at a loss – he didn't know what to do with himself. Occasionally, in his home country, the odd soldier would die from a wound of some form or from the poisonous bite of a spider. But nothing like this – everywhere he looked, a corpse lay at his feet. The stench and the sight were appalling and he hated every minute of it – the grief in his heart was so great, he could barely cope.

He had seen his friends but he had not spoken to them – he was in his own thoughts. As he wandered around aimlessly, he came to the place where the wall had been breached by the explosion. Rubble and debris lay everywhere. Most of the corpses they had crushed had been removed but many still remained. Legolas' eyes scanned the scene and was filled with the disgust of war, though he knew in his heart it was necessary, for the greater good.

He was just about to turn and walk away when something caught his eye. He had to look twice, as at first he believed his eyes deceived him. He saw, underneath a huge boulder that had come from the wall, one of the many corpses crushed and trapped. To the ordinary eye, the body looked dead – there were no signs of life whatsoever.

Legolas' eyes widened as his jaw dropped. The hair that coated the body's head lay to one side so he could see the victim's face. It was still, silent, crushed and dirty and yet so very beautiful. A terrible fear gripped Legolas – he could the face of the body clearly. It was female. There were no other females fighting at that battle except …

"No …" Legolas said almost breathlessly as the horrible truth hit him that he refused to believe.

His breathing turned frantic as he ran full-pelt. He ran across the plain, dodging the dead corpses that lay at his feet, his eyes never leaving Anié's crushed body. He eventually came up to her and fell to his knees by her head. He placed his hands gently on her face and begged for her to wake up. But she did not utter a word, nor did she make any kind of movement or sign of life. Legolas did not even know if she was breathing.

He saw the boulder crushing her torso. From her rib-cage to her knees, everything was crushed. There was even dried blood on the edges of the rock, which was mostly her own. Legolas felt the tears leak out of his eyes and his heart collapse within him. He was heart-broken that Anié had fought in this dreadful fight and that she had to suffer this fate – he was the evil, sinful one (in his mind), it was his fault the wall had blown, why couldn't it have happened to him?!

Inside of him, he felt a hatred and an anger towards Sauron and Saruman greater than any other emotion he or any of his kindred had felt before. His teeth grinded against each other, but this time, he put his anger to good use: he stood up to his full height, held the boulder tightly with both hands and lifted. Every muscle in his body was tense, his strength – fuelled by his anger and heart-break – unbelievable to watch. His teeth ground together more as his body began to feel the pure weight of this slab of pure rock. Eventually, he felt it lift off Anié's body. He heaved it into the air, the rock pressing against the entirety of his chest and with a deafening cry, he threw it to one side.

He panted, catching his breath and looked down at Anié. All Elves were beautifully slender, but Anié was now a lot slimmer than she had once been. His heart was ridden of its black anger and filled only with white despair. His heart broke and wept in his chest.

He knelt down and, with extreme caution, lifted Anié's head and shoulders onto his lap. He stroked her hair and once again, begged for her to breathe and live. Tears continued to fall down his face as he bowed his head and wept.

To Legolas' astonishment, shortly after he had relieved her from the rock, he saw her chest slowly rise and fall in his arms. He couldn't believe she was breathing – it was a miracle! But his inner relief was soon cut short as she began to cough heavily and painfully, blood coating the inside of her mouth. Legolas did his best to calm her down, still holding her on his lap.

Eventually, she calmed down a little and as her breathing returned to some form of normality – though her breathing looked painful and her inner suffering was great - she opened her eyes barely so they looked more like slits than round eyes, and looked up at the Elf holding her. Legolas did not know whether she recognised him or not but she looked up into the face of the petrified Elf above her with grateful eyes and a smile almost appeared on her face, but she did not have the strength to make one.

"Legolas …" she managed to faintly make out.

The relief that rose in Legolas' heart was indescribable. Tears leaked out of his eyes and fell gently down his face.

"It's alright, Anié" he too only just managed to say, "I'll look after you. I won't let you go".

She looked up to him gratefully and then gently collapsed into his arms whilst exhaling softly. Legolas caught her and held her firmly. She was alive at least, but his heart still bled for her. He wiped the excess tears on his face away with his fingertips and looked down at her crushed, motionless face, which almost made him weep again. He held her close to him and wept silently onto her shoulder, guilt, agony and deepest sorrow over-whelming every particle of his being.


	6. Reconciliation

It was evening and the clouds had finally cleared during the day, so the sky was now a deep blue colour, littered with beautiful crystal stars. Anié lay alone on the bed, quite content by herself. She had been lying there for quite some days now, nearly five, by her count. After the accident, Legolas had kept her with him at all times; he spoke to no-one nor did he allow anyone near her – he rode her alone to the golden hall of Edoras where she now was, but then left her in the hands of the healers. Though he was terrified for her health and safety, when they reassured him that she would live and heal in time, he was almost certain she would hate and if she did not desire his presence, and therefore he would not stay with her, as that would not help her heal.

As she lay alone in the darkness and the silence, she heard a knock at the door. She did not know who it would be, but the knock was almost inaudible; it was possibly the gentlest knock on the door she had ever heard. She turned her head in one swift, graceful movement and looked towards the door, expecting it to open, but it remained still and solemn with no movement. She replied to the knock just as gently as itself.

"Come in" she called softly.

The door slowly opened and a tall Elf walked in, his head slightly bowed, not looking at her at first. She was very surprised to see Legolas walk in and was not quite sure what to say. Legolas walked in like a shadow and shut the door behind him as gently as he had knocked and opened it. Both elves stood there silently, Anié with her hands on her waist and her mouth slightly open, Legolas looking at the floor with a dark and serious face. She had never seen him like this before.

"Forgive my intrusion" said Legolas quietly, looking up ever so slightly.

"Not at all" she replied just as gently.

"Did you receive my letter?" he asked honestly.

Anié looked at him, her conscience tugging at her heart-strings; Legolas had asked her not to fight and since she found him, he knew she did.

"Yes" she asked, hiding her sudden concern.

His chin was almost digging into his chest.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, again with complete honesty.

Anié was secretly surprised that he wasn't angry or shouting at her. He was expecting him to be hurt, upset or maybe even offended that she had disobeyed his request. But instead, he seemed to be understanding about it and she was very grateful of it.

"A little better" she answered. She couldn't tell him the truth.

Legolas whispered to himself: "Thank the Valar".

Anié just heard what he said and although she couldn't be totally sure, he almost sounded as if he was going to cry – the grief in his voice was almost unbearable to hear, let alone to feel.

An awkward silence filled the room. Both Elves stood a good few feet away from each other. Eventually, Legolas walked slowly forwards towards her. Anié was not sure how close she wanted Legolas to be – it wasn't that she didn't trust him, she was just being careful – but she was surprised when instead of coming up close to her, he knelt down by the side of the bed close to her face, head once again bent.

"I do not deserve your love" he said slowly after a matter of time.

Anié looked down at him, beginning to feel equally upset.

"I do not ask for you to love me again" he continued, head still bent, "you may hurt me or even kill me, if you desire or if that is what you feel I deserve, but all I will say is this: if you do not wish to love me, tell me now so I may continue my life and … let my heart break as my punishment, for I know that is what my actions deserve".

Anié looked down on him, feeling total pity for him. After a moment's silent thought, she slowly forced herself up, using her arms as supports. Legolas looked up suddenly and moved forwards quickly to help her up, even though he believed that her getting up was not a good idea. He moved to aid her but was stopped as she raised a hand to his face, her eyes closed and her mouth shut. He understood and moved away a little, still cautious and on alert in case she may fall.

Eventually, though cautious of her pain, she managed to sit herself up on the side of the bed. To Legolas' astonishment, she too knelt down before him. She placed her delicate fingers on his chin and lifted up his face so he may look at her.

"Legolas" she began softly and innocently, "are you sorry for what you have done?"

Legolas stared into her eyes, his eyes holding pure desire and guilt.

His lips mouthed out the truthful words "yes" and a small smile crept onto Anié's face.

"Then you are forgiven and you have my love" Anié replied and she moved forwards towards Legolas, still on her knees.

Legolas received the shock of his life as he felt Anié's succulent, tender lips fasten gently onto his own. He accepted the kiss and returned the favour passionately. He could hardly believe that Anié was not only able to forgive me for what he had done, but that she still loved him and love him just as much as he loved her, which was an amount too large to describe in words. He felt Anié move closer towards him and as they wrapped their arms round each other, Legolas realised Anié was almost on his lap. Legolas held the back of her head with his head, desperately trying to kiss her more deeply. His desire and passion for her rose and he plunged his tongue into his mouth, carefully clasping the sides of her face as he tried to move further into her.

But as his passion for her rose, he felt the same urge, the same growing, near-unstoppable feeling inside of him, the same feeling he had felt the last time he and Anié had shared a romantic moment. It had stop, he had to stop it, stop it before it was too late … he couldn't hurt her again …

"No" Legolas said firmly.

They stopped kissing and Anié looked at him with a bemused look on her face. Legolas hung his head, wondering if stopping the kiss had been a good idea – he had been enjoying it so much.

"You cannot forgive me, not after what I have done. I have hurt you too badly and too deeply, I …"

His head was hung and Anié felt moved inside of her as she saw a grief-filled look cross his face. After a pause and a silent sigh, he lifted his head and his round, sapphire, tear-filled eyes gazed into her equally sapphire eyes.

"I cannot … not again … not after last time … I'm sorry, I …"

He could not seem to believe that Anié was willing to forgive him after the atrocity that he had performed upon her without even knowing why. He was not sure how to finish his sentence, but thankfully he did not need to, for Anié had already placed her fingers on his lips to silence him. She was so moved that Legolas had seen the error in his ways and she was deeply touched that Legolas respected, loved and protected her the way he did.

"Wait here" she said. She raised herself and left the room, walking behind a curtain.

Legolas too stood up but did not know what to expect or what to do with himself. Where had Anié gone? What was she going to do? Was she preparing a punishment for him? He stood still for quite a few moments until she finally emerged from behind the curtain. She walked slowly forwards, the curtain trailing over her perfect body before falling gracefully behind her.

Legolas could not help but stare, his breath completely taken away from him. As her stunningly beautiful, naked form stood before him, her hands placed delicately on her waist, she looked at him with loving eyes as she watched him scan her body from head to toe, his mouth agape. She simply stood there, silent and still, both Elves gazing at each other.

"Anié …" his lips mouthed breathlessly.

He stared at her once again before advancing. He felt the urge once again push him forwards and he rushed towards her, almost sprinting across the bedroom. When he reached her, his arms automatically enclosed her in his tight embrace and his lips advanced towards her own. With his eyes closed, preparing for a romantic impact to hit his lips, he felt surprised as the only feeling he felt on his lips was the touch of Anié's index finger. His eyes flew open – was she denying him? She gazed into his eyes with a certain authority Legolas had never seen before.

"Shh …" she said quietly, their noses almost touching.

"Calm yourself".

Legolas looked into her eyes, understanding her completely. Very slowly and incredibly gently, he gave a small kiss on the cheek and then moved back a little to give her her space. Anié smiled, pleased to see that Legolas understood her thoughts. Now she would reward him for that.

Anié sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up to Legolas. Legolas looked down at her and saw the most beautiful woman in the world – beautiful in more ways than one. He too moved and sat on her lap, straddling her as he did so. As he continued to look down on her, he was so desperate for her, it was difficult to contain himself and near impossible not to lean down, in that moment, and kiss her as if now was their last hour. But he held it in – he knew it would not be long now until he could let his passion loose.

Anié's hands fingered the clips on his blue tunic and slowly undid them, revealing the male Elf's stunning chest. Moulded perfectly and clearly built for an agile warrior, she scanned his torso with her eyes, taking in the wonderful masterpiece that knelt on top of her. She rested her head on his chest and Legolas nearly collapsed as his emotions ran through like a flaming whip, overpowering him as they did so. The only thing he wanted to do now was plunge his tongue down her throat and make love to her there and then. He desired her so much, her body, her love, her touch, her kiss, everything about her thrilled him totally.

But he knew why she was putting him through this torture of holding himself in: this was no punishment, nor was it a reward – she was doing this so Legolas could learn to control himself so the events of that awful night in the terrible fortress would never happen again. Controlling himself using all his inner strength, he leant down to her ear, kissed it gently and whispered:

"I will be gentle".

Anié smiled, relieved, and looked up into Legolas' eyes, both of them knowing exactly what they want. Anié laid herself backwards, Legolas already in the right position. Legolas leant forwards with her and as soon as Anié's back nestled itself into the bed, both the Elves' hands were running up and down each other's bodies and the lips were firmly connected, never again to part. Anié undressed him as he passionately kissed her, thrilling her and that night, they had the gentlest, the calmest, the most wonderful, most passionate, most thrilling and most romantic sex they had ever had in their lives. As Legolas made love to her and Anié felt him deep inside her, she knew this was a love too perfect for anything to break.


	7. New Life

The most glorious of days had come – the sun was shining, a cool, refreshing breeze swirled around all in its path, the trees were glistening in the sunlight and as the branches swayed gently in the breeze, the odd flower growing at the feet of the huge, glorious trees, hiding beneath the growth of all the other living things growing around them.

The golden pathway was littered with leaves and lush, green grass. Two elegant Elves walked down that path, hand in hand and they couldn't be more content. A day of peace had finally arrived, their home country was once again restored to its former glory and all the evils and burdens in their lives had finally been vanquished forever. Everything about them and the area around them was beautiful in everyway. The two elves laughed, jested and spoke to each other happily – they enjoyed walking through the forest together, so they walked quite a long way for a few hours with each other.

After a while, simply walking became tiresome and so the male elf chased the female, making her laugh almost hysterically. Legolas chased Anié through the forest, round the trees and over small, grassy plains. Both Elves were extremely sleek and could run swiftly like deers without making any sort of print on the grass, but eventually, Legolas caught her and held her back from running. Anié, losing her balance whilst shrieking with laughter and light-heartedly protesting, fell over, Legolas falling down also not far from her. They both lay on their backs, laughing hard as their eyes scanned the sky above them.

Anié sat up a little, supporting herself with her arms, when suddenly, she began to feel a little uncomfortable. A pain began to dwell and grow in her abdomen and her eyes closed as she placed a hand on her stomach in an attempt to nurse the sudden shock of pain. Legolas, still lying on his back, chuckling, looked across at his wife and was horrified at the look of discomfort on her face. In one swift movement, he launched himself onto his knees beside her, his face showing sudden concern.

"Anié?" he said, fear obvious in his voice.

Anié took several deep breaths, her hand still resting on her waist.

Legolas apologised continuously: "I'm sorry Anié, I'm so sorry. Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I …"

"It's alright" Anié interrupted quickly, looking across at her lover and smiling.

"I'm not hurt" she reassured him, "my fall just gave me a bump, that's all!"

She smiled at him in reassurance that what she said was true and he smiled weakly back, looking a little unconvinced. He sat down close beside her and moved forwards so their noses were touching. They gazed into each others, both of them taking fleeting glances at their other's lips.

"I never want to hurt you again" he said softly, his hand moving down her body to join hers. As he briefly caressed her hand with his own, his palm gently rested on her area where the pain had risen from.

She saw his face darken slightly as Anié saw within him his hidden grief.

"You still grieve over the events of the past" she asked him.

Legolas turned to her, his face totally fallen and shadowed with sadness. She placed her hand on the side of his face and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"Inside, the guilt still remains" he replied sadly, almost darkly, "but I grieve more for those who did not survive to see this beautiful day".

He thought of Haldir as he said this, whose corpse he had held in his arms at Helm's Deep which seemed - thankfully - so long ago. Many more memories of Helm's Deep came flooding back and he almost wept. Anié saw his heart bleed for them and hers wept also.

"Do not grieve for the past" she told him, "What's done is done, and although my heart weeps for them also, we must not dwell on such saddening thoughts. We have our own life now and we must use it to the full".

Legolas looked across at her and smiled, the darkness lifted.

"That is true" he said softly, agreeing with her.

He stroked the side of her face with his free hand.

"_Veleth nîn_" he said.

Both individuals felt the same urge of passion and romantic love in that moment. Legolas leant forward into her face and they kissed, softly yet deeply, holding each other close. As Anié fell slowly onto her back onto the grass, Legolas' palm traced the swell of Anié's abdomen, for when Anié had said "we have our own life now", she was right – a new life had begun for the two individuals, who were now married, and a brand new life had begun for the elf-child that grew more with every day that passed within Anié – a child purely created through love.

**The end.**


End file.
